Bridges was at his best in the opening-round, series-clinching rout of the Hawks, the kind of performance the Knicks would like to see more from the two-way wing, and he built on it in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Bridges attacked, was decisive and was typically strong on the defensive end, helping the Knicks to another blowout victory, a 137-98 mauling of the 76ers in Game 1 of this best-of-seven series.
He had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting along with five assists and a plus-19 rating in 27 minutes.
Mikal Bridges reacts during the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the 76ers on May 4. Charles Wenzelberg It was a down regular season for Bridges.
He attempted his fewest field goals (11.7) since the 2021-22 season, and he averaged only 14.4 points, well down from the 17.6 he tallied in his first season as a Knick.
He struggled over the first five games of the Hawks series before his 24-point, five-rebound, three-assist breakout in Game 6.
There was talk of bringing him off the bench at one point in the series, although coach Mike Brown stuck with the 29-year-old Bridges.
“He was aggressive, he imposed his will on the game. I don’t call a lot of plays, and so our guys if they feel like they have an advantage, they have to be aggressive with it, and he was aggressive,” Brown said of his effort to close out the Hawks. “You felt it. He attacked the rim to finish. He was aggressive with his shot selection. He also rebounded and defensively, he was really good.”
In Game 1, he spent a lot of time guarding Maxey, Philadelphia’s budding star.
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Maxey averaged 26.9 points, 6.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds and shot 41.8 percent from 3-point range in Philadelphia’s opening-round victory over the Celtics.
During the regular season, Maxey had success against the Knicks as well, producing 30 points and 5.3 assists in four contests.
But that player was missing in the series opener, held to 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting along with four turnovers.
